twenty_three_and_insuredOPStock
Columbia, SC7 posts, joined Dec 2025
car 2011 Accord for now, shopping a 2017 R/T
first thread, be gentle. i'm Jordan, 23, second year HVAC apprentice in Columbia, SC. i drive a 2011 Accord with 190,000 miles that my mom handed down to me and i have $24,000 saved. i want a muscle car before i am too old to enjoy it, which my dad says is a joke because he is 58 and still wants one.
i have been watching the bank repo lots on conaway's for about two months. what i keep seeing in my range is 2016 to 2018 Challenger R/T 5.7 autos with 40 to 70 thousand miles, and once in a while a Scat Pack that goes for more than i have. i have not bid yet because of insurance. here are the quotes i got last week, all full coverage, clean record, one speeding ticket from 2021 that just fell off:
- 2017 Challenger R/T 5.7: State Farm $268 a month, GEICO $289, Progressive $312
- 2018 Challenger Scat Pack 392: State Farm $401 a month, the other two were worse
- my Accord right now, liability only: $96
my dad's idea: he buys it, title in his name, it goes on his policy with me listed as an occasional driver, and he got a number of about $140 a month added to his bill. that is half. but something about it feels off and i would rather ask people who have done this than find out the hard way.
also, i live in an apartment near Five Points and my parents live in Lexington, about twenty minutes away. which address is the car "garaged" at for the quote? i have been giving them my parents' address because that is what is on my license.
if i do bid on one of the conaway's cars, whose name has to be on the bid for the title to come out right?
Lincoln, NE61 posts, joined Nov 2025
car 1971 Chevelle Malibu 350, Muncie four speed
Jordan, your gut is right, and good on you for asking before you did it.
what your dad is describing has a name in the insurance world, it is called fronting. the policy says the car's main driver is a 58 year old in Lexington, and the car's actual main driver is a 23 year old in Columbia. as long as nothing happens it looks like a great deal. the day something happens, the adjuster asks who drives it, where it sleeps, whose keys, and the claim can be denied or the policy rescinded. then you have a wrecked car, nobody paying for it, and possibly somebody else's medical bills with your dad's name on them.
my nephew did exactly this with a Mustang in 2019 in Omaha. he backed into a parked truck, no big deal, $2,800. the company asked a few questions, figured out he lived across town, and dropped my sister's whole policy at renewal. she was furious for a year. not at the insurance company.
same with the address. garaging means where the car spends the night. if it sleeps at your apartment, that is the address. Columbia and Lexington rate differently and they will find out the first time you file a claim.
the honest quote is $268. build your budget around that and see if the car still makes sense.
Warren, MI102 posts, joined Nov 2025
car 2015 Charger R/T 5.7, the daily
a Mopar angle on why your numbers look the way they do. Chargers and Challengers have been near the top of the theft lists for a few years now, the Hemi cars especially, and the insurers price that straight in. a 5.7 R/T costs less to insure than a 392 partly because of horsepower and partly because the 392 cars walk off more often.
two practical things. one, quote the actual VIN, not just the year and model. if the listing you like on conaway's does not show it, write and ask, then call your agent with it before you bid. two, ask about a steering wheel lock and a tracker. some companies give a discount for a tracker and either way it makes your car the second easiest one in the lot.
and the R/T is the better first car for you. you will have more fun with $130 a month left in your pocket than with an extra 115 horsepower you cannot use on Gervais Street anyway.
camaro_2ss_tucsonBolt-ons
Tucson, AZ16 posts, joined Nov 2025
car 2019 Camaro 2SS, 6.2 LT1, six speed
i was 29 when i got my Camaro and my rate still made me sit down. one thing that helped me: the telematics plans, where you run an app or a plug-in for a few months and they watch how you drive. mine knocked about 18 percent off after the trial. if you drive like a grandpa for ninety days it pays.
and the title question. when you register to bid you bid in your own name, and the paperwork comes out in the name of whoever won. if your dad wins it, it is your dad's car. there is no fixing that afterward without a second sale and a second round of fees.
winter_storage_ritualHeads and cam
Erie, PA34 posts, joined Nov 2025
car 2017 Challenger R/T Shaker 5.7, six speed
one more angle since nobody said it. if you live somewhere with a real winter you can drop collision during the storage months and keep comprehensive, and it saves real money. Columbia does not really have a storage season, so that one is not for you. but in five years when you move to Michigan for some job and the car sits november to april, remember it.
twenty_three_and_insuredOPStock
Columbia, SC7 posts, joined Dec 2025
car 2011 Accord for now, shopping a 2017 R/T
update. thank you all, honestly. here is where i landed.
i told my dad no on the fronting thing and showed him dawn's post. he read it twice and said "well that settles that." i called State Farm back with my apartment as the garaging address and my own name as owner and driver, and signed up for the driving app. the quote on a 2017 R/T came out at $241 a month with the app discount. Lexington would have been a little cheaper, but it would also have been a lie.
things i found out on my own: titling a car here that came from another state means paying the state's IMF, 5 percent of the price with a $500 ceiling, and then the county sends a property tax bill on the car every year. on a $21,000 car in Richland County that bill is not small. so my $24,000 is now really a $21,000 car budget once i put away the fees and two months of insurance.
i am waiting on my tax refund and then i will start bidding in march. there is a 2017 R/T in Plum Crazy on conaway's right now that i keep looking at, but it will be gone by then. i will make a thread when i actually win something, and i will remember to look at the steering wheel photo.
